Epiphany of the Lord

A star appeared, and the wise men of the East went to Jerusalem to inquire where the King had been born.

After their audience with Herod, they made the five-mile journey to Bethlehem and, finding the Child, adored Him and offered Him the gifts most valued in the East: gold, frankincense and myrrh. Gold is offered in tribute to a king; incense, in sacrifice to a deity; and myrrh, a fragrant resin, is used to embalm or sprinkle on dead bodies - an odd present for a newborn baby, to be sure, but a clue to why He came into our world...

The visitation of the Magi is more than “a gorgeous splash of oriental color in the dimness of the stable.” Its true significance - the journeying of humanity toward Christ, through whom and for whom all things were created - should stir us to become more involved in leading others to the Lord.

First, of course, we ourselves must believe that Jesus Christ is “the way and the truth and the life”. This has been the Church’s faith from the start. To hear it and to accept it in faith is to be evangelized; to tell others about it is to evangelize. To evangelize is to open for others the way to a loving relationship with the Lord.

(Fr Thomas Kocik)